The Living Sword: A Fencer's Autobiography

by Aldo Nadi, Lance C. Lobo, William M. Gaugler

Book by Nadi, Aldo, Lobo, Lance C., Gaugler, William M.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

Paperback

Published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aldo Nadi was arguably one of the greatest fencers in history.

And he knew it.

His autobiography demonstrates the size of his ego. He was a notorious womanizer and gambler and lived a very high life in Europe. His bitterness at not being able to achieve the same lifestyle in the post-war United States is palpable.

All that said, Nadi was very intelligent and wrote well. The books is a fascinating (although obviously biased) peek into a great mind.

[Hien · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look into the mind of an egomaniac. Aldo Nadi was a great fencer who also suffered from an inferiority complex. He was overshadowed by his brother Nedo who was arguably a better fencer and won more gold medals in the Olympics. Aldo compensated for this inferiority complex with a towering ego. It comes across in the book where he constantly compares himself to his brother and says he is better.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maestro Nadi was not a very nice man. As a fencer he was par excellence. He was the right man with the right skills in the right place and left a legacy which will never be equaled.

[Roger Barnstead]

my hero